Crouching Secrets, Hidden Memories
by QueenTigris
Summary: Artemis Fowl has lost his memories, first the mind-wipe now a car crash. A secret enemy of old wishes to take advantage of this vulnerable time. It isn't Koboi, Spiro, or the Mafia, it is an evil power far higher. CHAPTER 6 UP!
1. A Simple Phone Call

A/N: Hehe. Couldn't help myself with the title, anyway the title is kind of true, the secrets are crouching, ready to strike like a tiger, and memories are hidden, Arty's memories that is. Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any Artemis Fowl characters or anything else that came out of the book. Belle is mine though! She is all mine! MINE!!!!!!!!  
  
Crouching Secrets, Hidden Memories Chapter 1: A Simple Phone Call  
  
Angeline Fowl looked around the limousine contentedly. The family was back together, and for once her dear little Arty seemed happy with his life. Her husband had to walk around with a prosthetic leg but she was still extremely happy he was back. Now the Fowls were going to watch a movie together, no Butlers whatsoever. Just the Fowls, well actually, there was the chauffeur, but he wasn't actually going to go with them to the movie. But Belle would be coming along, Artemis's girlfriend whom was snuggling against Arty's arm fast asleep. Artemis though, was fully awake, staring out the window with a vague expression on his face. He always looked like that when he was deep in thought.  
  
She poked Mr. Fowl next to her and pointer at her son and his little friend, "Aren't they the cutest together?"  
  
Mr. Fowl grinned and chuckled lightly, "You know, before long we might have a daughter-in-law."  
  
Artemis snapped to attention at the remark, "I very much doubt that."  
  
Mr. Fowl chuckled again, still grinning. "Don't worry, I was only kidding."  
  
Artemis turned his head to look at the golden haired girl latched to his arm. Mrs. Fowl watched as his eyes softened and he brushed a hand through her hair.  
  
Behind her the chauffeur gave a cry. There was the screech of brakes and the smell of burning rubber, and then she felt a great impact and everything went black.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Belle woke up feeling terribly sore. Where was Arty? She couldn't feel his arm. The next thing she noticed was her chest was covered in sticky wetness. She opened her eyes and almost screamed. The clean, neat limo she had fallen asleep in now looked like a car crash out of a horror movie. One side was completely bashed in by a huge truck, and poor Mr. and Mrs. Fowl sitting across from her looked hardly recognizable. Belle looked down, and this time she did scream. All that sticky wetness she had felt had been blood. But not her blood, it was Artemis who was bleeding. Blood seeped from several wounds on his head and body. Her first impulse was to panic and thrash and scream to get him off her, but she realized that Artemis was seriously hurt and she would only injure him more if she moved him. She tried to reach her purse with her right arm, only to find it was broken judging from the pain. So she tried the other one, she managed to pull out her Nokia cell phone that Arty had given her without mishap.  
  
Belle's fingers shook as she dialed, whispering the numbers under her breath, "Nine. One. One."  
  
She brought the phone to her ear careful not to disturb the blood sodden body lying across her chest and shoulder.  
  
"Nine-one-one emergency. What is your emergency?"  
  
"Um, hi, uh, see I'm in this limo that crashed, and, uh, my boyfriend and his parents were, like, really badly hurt. Oh, and the chauffeur will need medical attention, the truck driver too."  
  
"Have you tired to remove any of the bodies from the crash?"  
  
"No, I think they're all too badly injured. When will the ambulance be here?" Belle's voice shook, 'please don't let Arty die. please, please.'  
  
"Okay, where are you?"  
  
Belle paused and looked out the window, "Erm, I was asleep, so I don't know. Um, we're right on top of a cliff that overlooks the ocean. Uh, if I heard right I think we were headed to this town called Blossomville." (Just pretend it exists, okay? I don't feel like doing research right now.)  
  
"Were you going North or South?"  
  
"Um, North I think."  
  
"Okay, I'm going to dispatch a search party. Just stay calm, okay?"  
  
"Alright."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Butler paced the room back and forth. Where were they? They were late, way too late, over three hours late. For the umpteenth time he checked his watch, seven o'clock. That was it; he was going to call Artemis.  
  
But before he could reach the phone it rang. He grabbed it, hoping for the voice of either his charge or his employer. "Hello?"  
  
"Is this the Fowl residence?"  
  
"Yes. I'm the butler." His hopes fell, it wasn't Artemis then. "Who is this?"  
  
"This is the Sisters of Mercy hospital."  
  
Butler's stomach clenched.  
  
The monotonous voice continued, "There was a car crash earlier today, and our patients have been identified as Angeline, Artemis Sr., and Artemis Jr. Fowl. There was also Belle Sampson and Mr. Isaac Treton, whom was declared dead."  
  
A stone dropped into his stomach at the name Artemis Jr. "I'll be right over."  
  
Butler threw down the receiver, not even bothering to put it back on its hook. He grabbed his keys off a kitchen counter and ran to his black Bentley in the driveway. He jammed the key into the ignition and twisted it. The engine roared to life and he kicked it into drive and stomped on the gas pedal. Sure, he was going over the speed limit, but he had good reasons. One, Artemis, his charge needed him now, and two, what police officer in his right mind would try to give an incredibly heavy set seven foot tall man like himself a ticket?  
  
He pulled into the driveway without being stopped by a police officer, anyways, he doubted he would have bothered to pullover; it would only be a waste of time. He ran up to the receptionist and demanded to know where Artemis Fowl Jr. was. He had to sign a piece of paper and show his ID before he could actually go see him.  
  
Butler walked down the hall that smelled of alcohol and pine sol looking for the number 793 on the doors. '789. 790. 791. 792. 793!' He opened the door, and there he was. Artemis was still unconscious, and he looked even paler than usual. But according to the beeping machine on the shelf he was alive. Butler pulled over a chair and sat to wait for Artemis to wake. He turned when the door opened behind him, he watched as Belle hobbled in awkwardly on a crutch with casts on her right ankle and right arm.  
  
"How is he?"  
  
Butler shrugged and went back to watching Artemis; he didn't really like the girl anyway.  
  
She hobbled over and sat down on the edge of the hospital bed and slipped her hand into his, her big brown eyes watching Artemis intently.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: I'm gonna stop it here. I have a major cramp from typing so much. Review please! 


	2. Amnesia

A/N: Hi!!! Okay, my friend, ednra, has been begging me to update this. So I will. Hee-hee... I love romance stories... specially when I get to choose what happens... hee-hee...  
  
Replies to reviewers:  
  
PsychoDude: If you read the second book carefully, on page forty it says, "He had spent the first night of his charge's life standing guard on the Sister's of Mercy maternity ward." See? Artemis was born in the Sister's of Mercy hospital. I don't know who Sammy Keys is...  
  
Alanna: The story isn't done yet! It was only the first chapter. I'm going to filter in little bits of information all over this story. And it is your job as the reader to find them. Anyway, thanx for the review!  
  
italiangirl31: Holly and Root and Foaly will come in the next chapter I think.  
  
ednra: Hi, ednra! Thank you for the review!  
  
asil morilinde: Thanx for the review!  
  
Gram: Thank you!  
  
your auntie: Which aunt are you? Grammy told you about me didn't she? Thanx!  
  
Crystalia: Danke for the review. I do hope you aren't still holding your breath...  
  
becca: Hee-hee... I love making people wait for me... hee-hee  
  
Thank you everyone for the reviews!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any Artemis Fowl characters, blah, blah, blah... Eoin Colfer, if you read this, I tell you your work is fantastic!!!! Your books are each a piece of priceless art!!! They are beautiful! Now, on with the story...  
  
Crouching Secrets, Hidden Memories  
  
Chapter 2: Amnesia  
  
Artemis didn't open his eyes immediately after he awoke. He was puzzled, and in pain. Odd thoughts were drifting through his mind. Where was he? Why did his *whole body* hurt so much? What was the warm thing in his hand? What the heck was that annoying beeping noise? What had happened? He didn't know the answers to any of these questions so he opened his eyes to find out.  
  
He was greeted by two strange people, one was a burly bald man, who looked very scary with his grim expression, and a girl, a very, very, very pretty girl. The girl seemed nice, she was smiling, but looks could deceive, he knew that because he had learned the hard way, but he couldn't remember how.  
  
So, of course, Artemis asked that simple question he just had to ask. "Who are you?"  
  
The bald man's face fell, and the smiling girl stopped smiling, making her more fit the description of the horrified girl. He longed for that radiant smile to come back, like a fairy longs for the moonlight. Wait a second, fairies didn't exist! Why was he thinking like a mythical creature really existed?  
  
"Artemis?!" The girl spoke, her voice was so beautiful like the ring of a harp string.  
  
Who was Artemis he wondered, the bald man maybe?  
  
"Artemis! You don't remember us?"  
  
They though *HE* was Artemis! How silly, his name was... Wait a darn minute, what was his name anyway? He was shocked, breathless, he couldn't remember his own name. He couldn't remember his own name! He didn't remember *ANYTHING*. Zip, nautta, nothing, zilch, zero... he was in *BIG* trouble.  
  
Artemis's eyes widened. He didn't know where he was, who were these people, and what terrified him the most was he didn't know *HIMSELF*!  
  
The questions he couldn't answer started to pour out of his mouth in a babble. "Where is this? Why am I here? WHO AM I???"  
  
"Artemis, calm down, okay? I'm going to go get a doctor." The scary bald man left the cold white room hurriedly.  
  
Leaving him with the pretty-blonde-girl-who-wasn't-smiling- anymore. "Arty? Don't you remember me?"  
  
Artemis frowned, hadn't they called him Artemis before? "Who is Arty?"  
  
The girl's voice shook, "Y-you are Arty... So you don't remember? Do you remember anything?"  
  
Artemis thought for a moment, he could trust this girl right? She didn't seem vary scary with the muscular bald man gone. "I can't really remember anything."  
  
"N-Nothing?"  
  
Artemis shook his head.  
  
The door opened and the scary bald man all but dragged in a pale man in a white coat with a tag on his collar that said 'Dr. R. Whitman'. Butler let the terrified doctor into the chair next to Artemis.  
  
"What is wrong with him?" Butler asked, or more it was a command for the doctor to heal Artemis.  
  
"Well, um..." The doctor tugged at his collar and laughed nervously. Then he turned to Artemis, "Tell me your name."  
  
"Uh..." Artemis shrugged, well as much as he could with a brace around his shoulders and all sorts of other things.  
  
Doctor Whitman sighed, "Do you remember what happened?"  
  
Artemis shook his head.  
  
"Do you remember these people?"  
  
Again Artemis's answer was negative.  
  
The doctor sighed, "I think it may be amnesia."  
  
At that moment the girl holding his hand burst into tears. He could only understand one word in ten, but he managed to figure out that it was him she was upset about.  
  
The doctor continued, obviously used to people crying, "He has several severe head injuries so I'm not much surprised."  
  
The girl gasped and started weeping even louder than before.  
  
The scary bald man tried to comfort her but it was obvious his comforting abilities were not that great. What was amnesia anyway?  
  
~*~  
  
"Here, you can read these to pass the time." Butler handed Artemis a few magazines and some books.  
  
Artemis puzzled at them he started to flip through the pages. All that was in them were a bunch of squiggly little lines, didn't make any sense to him. What was he supposed to do with these? He started turning them over and letting the pages fall down, then he turned it over again and let the pages fall that way. This was boring.  
  
"Artemis?"  
  
Artemis looked up at Butler. "What am I supposed to do with these?"  
  
Butler's eyes widened, "Er... read them..."  
  
Artemis frowned, "Read? What is read?"  
  
Butler slapped a hand over his face and groaned, he had forgotten how to read. Oh yeah, just *fab*.  
  
~*~  
  
Artemis frowned at the two unconscious figures in the hospital beds before him. Everyone said they were his parents. But he didn't recognize them, well actually, he didn't recognize anything at all.  
  
Everything here was like new to him. What is this? What is that? He found himself asking those questions quite often. No, more than often, he asked all the time. Now, everyone said he was going to go home. What home? He knew of no home.  
  
Artemis felt empty, unfinished. It was like something was gone that had been there before but he didn't know what.  
  
~*~  
  
Belle watched Artemis hobble around the room on his crutch while trying not to cry. It was obvious he didn't recognize a thing, he hadn't even recognized his own parents. The doctors had said there was nothing they could do and Artemis was more likely to remember things if he was put into a familiar atmosphere. So of course, that meant Fowl Manor.  
  
Belle couldn't see how he couldn't forget his own room. It was really, *really* nice. In one corner was huge queen size bed with a mattress so soft and cushy you could get lost in it and there was a beautifully embroidered blue quilt on top with silver birds, flowers, grapevines, and deer. Opposite the bed was a gargantuan entertainment system complete with a big screen TV, PS2, Gamecube, Nintendo 64, Xbox, DVD/VHS player, and surround sound. Some where thrown in with it was the stereo system, which was the only thing he ever really used, but to play classical music. Against one wall was an oaken antique desk with the best computer money could buy perched on its surface. There was rarely a minute when Artemis was home that the plasma monitor wasn't lit with whatever website or Word document Artemis was working on. This was one of those rare times, the screen was as black as an empty hole, just like Artemis's head, empty.  
  
All of his past memories and knowledge was gone. No quotations from people in the last millennium or big confusing words left his lips. It had gotten annoying sometimes but now she missed his greater knowledge and wisdom. Arty just wasn't Arty anymore, he was just... normal. It wasn't right.  
  
"So this is... my room?"  
  
Belle nodded, "If you need anything my room is the next door down, okay? And Butler is on the opposite side."  
  
Artemis nodded then frowned, "You live here, too? Are you my sister?"  
  
Shyeah, right. Like she was related to Thee Artemis Fowl. "No, I am your girlfriend, I'm not related to you in the remotest way."  
  
Artemis puzzled over this for a moment. "So, it you're not related to me then you have your own family, right? Why do you live here?"  
  
Belle winced, he had hit the touchy subject. She had known it would have to be explained sometime but she wished it wouldn't have been now. "Ah... Well... You see... my parents..."  
  
Artemis tilted his head to one side.  
  
Might as well get it over with, "Well, my parents... They aren't really... you know, sensible people. They, well... My mother was, um... raped. See, we don't know who the father is and... My mother... didn't want me." Belle choked back a sob.  
  
A look of worry creased Artemis's face. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. So my family took you in right?"  
  
Belle squeezed her eyes shut trying not to cry. "Butler adopted me, but only because Juliet pestered him and he thought you liked me."  
  
Artemis could see how that could be so, he had to admit he did feel attracted to her and he liked the thought of being her boyfriend.  
  
Belle choked back another sob, she would be calm, keep her cool. Just because she was a girl that had been rejected by her own mother didn't mean nobody wanted her. Just like the psychologist had said. Mr. and Mrs. Fowl liked her, Juliet liked her, Artemis liked her- well, she hoped he still liked her after losing his memory.  
  
"Do you still like me?" She blurted out, she just had to know. Belle had been so happy with Artemis before, what if he didn't like her anymore? If he didn't, then did that mean it had all been pretend before?  
  
Artemis blinked at her, "Er..." He suddenly found his shuffling feet very intriguing to look at.  
  
Belle leaned foreword on her crutch as far as she could without falling over. Did he? Did he?  
  
"Um... Yeah..." He glanced at her then looked back down at the wooden floor.  
  
His face was of a pink hue, he was blushing. That was good, that meant he was still attracted to her. Belle relaxed, spending so much time with him gave her the ability to read his body language like a book. Too bad Artemis didn't remember anything since he had woken up in a hospital bed two weeks ago.  
  
Then an idea came to Belle's mind. She had seen several soap operas just like this. Some girl's boyfriend lost his memory in some tragic accident and the doctor said a sudden shock would break the mental barrier blocking out the man's memories. So the girl had kissed him and he had remembered everything.  
  
As Belle thought about the idea of kissing Artemis some doubts came to mind. The doctor had said to *not* to try to push Artemis to remember things. And she had never kissed Artemis before. How would he react? Belle licked her lips, strawberry. Arty liked strawberries, right? Well, might as well give it a try, what could it hurt? Besides, she had always wanted to kiss Arty, he seemed to avoid it all the time.  
  
Belle took a deep breath and stepped foreword, well sort of, she more of hobbled over on her crutch.  
  
All she had to do was kiss him, them she would have her boyfriend back. Only how was she supposed to do it? Her right arm was in a cast and her other was needed to hold her up on her crutch. Oh, well, it would just have to be a little messy.  
  
She put her plastered arm around his shoulders and carefully pulled him to her. Artemis's eyes widened as their lips met. Belle let her eyelids flutter shut and willed him to kiss her back. After a moment he did start to return the kiss. Belle didn't know how long it lasted, but she didn't want it to end. It was exhilarating, and blissfully pleasant. She took it all in, savoring the taste of him.  
  
Finally she pulled away, even though she wanted to stay like that forever, she and Artemis still had to breathe. Belle stepped back, panting, to look at Artemis. He looked shocked, that was good right? Maybe he was remembering things. "So, do you remember now?" She asked eagerly.  
  
Artemis blinked, "Remember what?"  
  
Belle's hopes began to fall, "You know, do remember? Your past? Me?"  
  
Artemis frowned, "Um, no. Was that supposed to make me remember?"  
  
Belle slumped on her crutch, it hadn't worked. 'Oh, phooey... Note to self: Life is not a soap opera.'  
  
There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Belle hollered to be heard through the thick wood of the door.  
  
Butler opened the door, "Lunch is ready."  
  
Artemis and Belle walked out past the burly man on their way to the dinning room. Actually, Belle was on her way, Artemis was only following since he would have gotten lost otherwise.  
  
~*~  
  
A/N: Okay, here is where I'm gonna have to stop. Tell me what you think of my story! Oh, and I think Holly will be entering in the next chapter. Hee-hee... All of you have no idea what is coming. Hee-hee... 


	3. Mystery Enemy

A/N: FINALLY!!!!! I'M BACK!!!!!! *crowd goes wild* Hello peoples! It seems that Crouching Secrets, Hidden Memories has easily made it to the top of peoples' favorite lists. Sorry it took so long, but I had to reconstruct the plot in order to fit into the events in the Eternity Code. Now, the plot line will have even more action and romantic stuff. Here is a little summary: Artemis has been keeping a secret, a big secret. That even he didn't know about. It was erased from his mind when he was mind wiped. But that makes him vulnerable to an ancient enemy, an enemy he didn't even know he had. This enemy is dangerous, and powerful. If Artemis doesn't remember things soon then everything could get really messy, really fast.  
  
Replies to reviewers, whoa... WAY too many reviews to do them all, so I am just going to pick a few people that asked questions or something:  
  
Big Friendly Walrus: Yes, yes. I know, this looks like I total Mary Sue doesn't it? Don't worry, Belle has flaws, lots of them, I just haven't revealed them yet. Like, even though she seems so sweet right now, she has a REALLY bad temper. As bad as Julius's, well, not that bad... You really won't want to get on her bad side, because she can be BRUTAL. But Arty doesn't remember that he has to be careful with her temper... heh heh...  
  
PsychoDude: PSX???? I don't know! All I have is a PS1 and a couple of games. How would I know about that stuff? And yes, eventually Artemis will get his memory back. Not till later though. Heh heh... And Belle is not Mexican!  
  
ednra: You, mister, are in BIG TROUBLE if you don't review some more of my stories!!! You hear?? I don't get enough feedback from you!!!  
  
Burgundy: No, I'm not parodying a Mary Sue, if I am, I don't know that I am. And Belle is NOT a Mary Sue, the story isn't over yet and you don't know enough to judge her! Humph.  
  
Tie-Kerl: Yeah, I know. I tend to make up female characters that have flaws that don't seem to come up till a couple of chapters later in the story. But she isn't a Mary Sue, believe me. All will be explained later on in the story. Oh, and the story will get even better now, because this is where the action begins!!!  
  
Vana Burke: Yep, not a single other story in this section where Artemis gets amnesia. Same goes with my One with the Moon story, it is the only story where Arty goes werewolf. I like to have my storylines to be very original. That's me, original, and individual. Heh heh...  
  
anime_fan: Well, first of all, Holly can't heal him, he was mind wiped in the Eternity Code. And magic only heals the physical injuries, it can't take down the mental barrier blocking out Artemis's memories. And about the Xbox and Nintendo 64 thing, I never said he actually *plays* with them, they are just the result of his parents' attempts to make him happy.  
  
Thank you everybody for the reviews! I love reading reviews sooo much!! And I apologize to those I infuriated with my sluggishness with the updating.  
  
Disclaimer: mumblegrumblerumble... I do not own any Artemis Fowl characters and stuff that belong to Eoin Colfer... mumblegrumblerumble...  
  
Crouching Secrets, Hidden Memories  
  
Chapter 3:  
  
Butler sighed, typing in the password to the surveillance cameras that only he, and Artemis Sr. knew, Artemis Jr. used to know, but he kinda forgot it. Ever since that car accident Artemis hadn't remembered a thing. Not a thing, nothing, zip, zero, zilch. He had even forgotten what his parents looked like for heaven's sake! And what would happen to Artemis if he didn't start to remember things soon? He would have to go back to school eventually, and if he didn't remember how to read he would have to go all the way back to elementary school. There was no way he would be able to finish his years at St. Bartleby's with him in this state.  
  
Butler looked up at the plasma monitor where the surveillance cameras were showing all that was going on in Fowl Manor. There was Artemis, wandering the dark corridors of his forgotten home. Obviously lost again, he was probably looking for a bathroom or something. Oh well, Belle would probably help him, she was usually up late around this hour in the library writing in her diary or something. Or she was soaking in the hot tub. She LOVED the hot tub. He searched the monitors for the form of Belle in her white silk nightgown. There she was, out in the garden looking at the stars and the luminous full moon.  
  
Before Artemis lost his memory he and she had spent a lot of time out in the garden at night. Especially on nights when the moon was full. Before that car accident the two of them had been almost inseparable, never away from each other's side, not even when they got into fights. Which was not very common, Belle and Artemis got along so well it seemed they read each other's minds; they even finished each other's sentences sometimes.  
  
But he had never gotten along well with Belle himself. She was incredibly annoying, she insisted on hanging onto Artemis 24/7 and she demanded Butler's obedience. Besides, HE was the adoptive father; he was supposed to be the one in charge. But Belle insisted that he wait on her hand and foot. Artemis ordered him around all the time, but at least he used a respective tone, unlike Belle, who seemed to think she was the queen of England or something, and Artemis her king.  
  
If it hadn't been for Artemis's fondness of Belle he would never have adopted the girl. Mr. and Mrs. Fowl had insisted that Artemis make a friend, somehow. So Artemis had donated money to a local orphanage and had gone there to visit and "talk" with the other children there. He had only intended to go to the orphanage once, but he had forced Butler to drive him back there the next day, and then the next day, and the next. It had turned out that Artemis had been paying visits to one orphan in particular. Belle Sampson, he insisted on going to see her every day. Finally it had become absolutely ridiculous and Butler had resolved to adopt the girl himself. Mr. and Mrs. Fowl had been delighted that their attempts to have their little boy socialize with others his age had finally paid off and he had made a friend. But they soon found out that Belle was more than just a friend to Artemis.  
  
Belle and Artemis had seemed so happy together, it must have been the first time that either of them had been truly happy in their entire lives. As Artemis was always so lonely, and Belle had always been in despair of her parents' choice of leaving her behind. But once they had finally been happy, now it was all taken away from them, just because a chauffeur had had a little too much champagne.  
  
Butler turned his attention to Artemis, who was currently wondering into one of the numerous tastefully decorated rooms of Fowl Manor. He had had the casts taken off only a couple of days ago, so navigation was much easier for him these days. Artemis looked around the room, and then walked out again. He was searching for something, or someone, sometimes he went to find Belle. Butler shook his head; even with Artemis's memories erased he was still hard to separate from Belle.  
  
~*~  
  
Artemis glanced around the room. Nothing did he recognize, even after four weeks staying in this 'home' he didn't remember it. If he had stayed here before he had started suffering from amnesia he truly wondered how on Earth he had found his way around, the twisting corridors and the infinite rooms, each one looking almost the same as the one before it and the one after. It was impossible to get around. He was beginning to wonder if the Manor was made to be a maze instead of an actual dwelling. He couldn't even find his way to a doorway where he could get outside to Belle in the garden.  
  
He always found himself strangely drawn to her. Artemis was attracted to her for sure, but there was something else. Her smile seemed to bring a tickling at the back of his mind, like it was sparking a distant memory buried deep underneath the emptiness that filled his head. But those memories never seemed to get quite free of the thick layers of nothingness, there was always too much in the way, too many obstacles. Obstacles, he realized, that may never be broken down. What would happen then? Would he have to live like this forever? Feeling empty and unfinished for an eternity? Would he ever be able to endure that? What awaited him on the other side of that wall in his mind? What would eventually break that wall down? Would he ever get his memories back? There were so many questions he asked himself these days, and more often that not, he rarely had an answer for them.  
  
He sighed, watching his feet as he walked along, not paying attention to the hallway ahead of him, until his head bumped into something hard. He rubbed his cranium and looked up. He smiled, without even realizing it he had walked right to the back door of Fowl Manor. And outside through the glass panes of the door he could see Belle, perched on an elegant garden bench, she glowed fantastically in the moonlight and her hair swayed in the gentle breeze. Her face was turned upward, her eyes glittering softly in the starlight. She was so beautiful; he could only wonder how he could possibly forget her.  
  
He opened the door, and walked out into the cool night. His feet padded across the soft green turf silently. He didn't know why but stealth seemed to come to him naturally. Sneaking around must have been a habit of his before he had been hit with this case of amnesia.  
  
Artemis stopped just behind a tree, its branches loaded with cherry blossoms. He watched Belle, balanced gracefully on the bench. She was yet to detect his presence, and he just watched her silently, unseen. Then a cold hand was pressed across his lips, preventing him from crying out. Cold steel was placed against the skin of his neck, the skin in contact with it started to burn.  
  
He struggled, but in vain. Whoever was holding him was holding him tight. Suddenly, he felt very sleepy. His eyelids drooped, and soon everything went dark as he drifted into a deep slumber. Artemis hung limp and vulnerable in the arms of his kidnapper, whom with a wave of an arm disappeared, taking Artemis as well.  
  
~*~  
  
Belle shivered, a cold wind blew through the garden. Suddenly she felt restless, she found little interest in the stars anymore, she felt like there was something she was missing. Something important, not the good sort of important either. She scanned the garden with her eyes, nothing had changed. But she did notice something, the tree branches and bushes were still, as if there was no wind at all. She blinked, she felt the intensely cold current of air on her skin, but that should mean the tree branches would be shaking wouldn't it?  
  
She shook her head, she probably just needed sleep. She got up and started for the door into the Manor, when she reached it she turned and looked over the garden again. Something was strange here, she felt an urge to walk back into the garden. Towards a particular cherry tree actually. She frowned and shook her head, she really needed sleep.  
  
Belle opened the door and entered Fowl Manor. When the door closed behind her she had expected the cold wind to go away, but the odd thing was it didn't. She shook her head again and rubbed her eyes. Her bed would be warm, she was sure of it.  
  
~*~  
  
A/N: Here is where I am going to stop this chapter. Next one will be up sometime. Sorry, I told you Holly would be in this chapter, but I had to redo the entire plot line so it fit in with The Eternity Code. I'm not sure when Holly will come in, I think it would be safe to say next chapter.  
  
Chow! Don't forget to review!  
  
~Kitty~ 


	4. Dreams of a Time Long Forgotten

A/N: Oooh... I left everyone on a cliffhanger last chapter, heh heh heh... I am EVIL!!!!!!!!! Muahahahahahahahah!!!!!! Sorry I keep taking such a long time to update, it is just that I keep getting bigger and more spectacular ideas for this story. I am almost constantly rewriting the plot and having to choose which storylines are better. Even though it is always a long wait for me to come up with the next part of the story, I can guarantee that the end will be quite worth it. Though, I do believe I have made a break through. I just saw a movie, called Moulin Rouge, it is an absolute masterpiece. But, it also inspired me to come up with a completely new idea, and I do believe it will be the final major idea I will need to finish the grand ending.  
  
Replies to reviewers:  
  
Liz: *blushing* You actually thought I was Eoin Colfer? Please, you flatter me, I am not Eoin Colfer, for first of all, if you read my bio, I am female. And there are a billion other reasons to why I am not Eoin Colfer too. But I certainly wish that I owned Artemis Fowl... Well, thank you lots for the review! I hope I get more reviews from you that are just as nice, and I am sure that you will be happy with this chapter because this is where the fairies come in! Yay!  
  
Nicole: There is no way that we can know how exactly Artemis would act if he were in love, because we have never seen him in love with anyone before. But there are also other factors to why Artemis clings to Belle like that, these will be revealed later in the story. Artemis is almost sixteen in this story, or you could say he is seven-hundred-thirty-two I won't tell you why I say that, it would ruin the story. Oh, and you think the Russian Mafia kidnapped him? Hardly, I am shooting much higher, and I am not talking Jon Spiro, I'm talking even higher.  
  
Ice Raider: Sorry about how long you always have to wait between updates. But I never like to rush myself, otherwise I'd get these awful half-baked stories.  
  
Spectra16: Yeah, the last chapter was an informative chapter, and this one kind of is too, the action will start soon... I am getting ideas for the next chapter even now... Oh, and will everyone stop complaining about Belle? She is essential to the story! And your picture of her will get clearer as the story goes along, once you see her as I see her you will all understand.  
  
Thank you everyone for the reviews!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl and Co.  
  
Crouching Secrets, Hidden Memories  
  
Chapter 4: Dreams of Times Long Forgotten  
  
Holly swaggered down the avenue with her LEP helmet tucked under her arm. Fairies of all shapes and sizes bustled past her. Finally she got to the LEP building; as usual the entrance was crammed with people complaining about whatever they felt like complaining about. Holly pushed past them, ignoring their pleads to listen to them. Once inside and safe from the crowd she crept as quietly as she could past Commander Root's office.  
  
"SHORT!!!! Get in here!"  
  
Holly's attempt at stealth was in vain. She sighed and walked into the room. Commander Root was fuming behind his desk, a fungus cigar held in one hand.  
  
"You're late again!"  
  
Holly sighed and scratched one of her pointy ears. "Commander, there was a big crowd and-"  
  
"Don't give me that, Captain!" Commander Root barked, "You are one of my most prized officers, I will not stand to have you coming in late! What message do you think you are giving out to other people if you are late all the time?"  
  
Holly opened her mouth to speak but Commander Root wasn't finished.  
  
"Next time you are late I'll have you demoted back to chute surveillance!"  
  
Holly nodded. She wasn't in any mood to argue. Just then Foaly buzzed the Commander's intercom unit perched on his desk.  
  
"Commander, something suspicious is going on at Fowl Manor. I think it could mean something."  
  
A blood vessel bulged in the Commander's forehead. "Fowl? Again? Why can't that kid get it through that enormous, thick head of his to just leave us alone?!" The Commander pounded a fist on the table.  
  
"Well, I don't know if it is related to us, but I really think you should see this." The plasma screen behind the Commander lit up, Holly and Julius turned to watch.  
  
On the screen the dark form of Artemis Fowl Jr. crept through a garden in the night. He stopped behind a tree and peeked past the trunk at something that Foaly's camera could not see.  
  
Holly's breath caught, she had not seen Artemis for over two years now, and he had certainly grown.  
  
Then a black clothed figure crept up behind him, he did not notice it. Holly saw the flash of a silver knife and Artemis was trapped in the stranger's grasp. Artemis struggled for a moment, and then his body went limp.  
  
Holly's eyes widened. Was Artemis dead? Had this stranger in the night killed him with the knife? Maybe he was still alive, she had not seen any blood.  
  
"Here is the interesting part." Foaly said over the intercom.  
  
The person holding Artemis wrapped him in its long black cloak, waved its arm, and disappeared.  
  
A lead ball dropped into Holly's stomach, there was no sign of Artemis, or his kidnapper.  
  
The Commander blinked at the screen. "What just happened? Where did they go?"  
  
The picture of the garden was replaced by Foaly's face. "I don't know, they must be shielded or something. But when I stopped the camera right after they disappeared, they still weren't there. I even went through every single frame, they aren't there!"  
  
Commander Root snarled, "Are you telling me they just disappeared? Right then and there? Like magic?"  
  
Foaly shrugged on the screen, "I don't know, but I think this subject needs a bit of exploration."  
  
The Commander ground his cigar into the already full ash tray. "Why would it need 'exploration'? What does this have to do with us?"  
  
"Well, first of all, it could have been a fairy, and we will have to track down this fairy. Second of all, it could mean that somebody knows how to fool my technology. If that is true then we will have to figure out how, because then this somebody could mean big trouble to the LEP and the rest of the world. Especially if they have a hostile attitude."  
  
"But then what would they want with Artemis?" Holly inquired.  
  
Foaly scratched the back of his neck. "Probably they want to use him for ransom or something."  
  
"But they aren't going to hurt him, right?"  
  
Foaly laughed, "You don't still think of that viper as a friend do you?"  
  
Holly's heart throbbed angrily. "No, I was just... worried. He is only- what?- fifteen now?"  
  
Foaly shrugged, he didn't believe her. Then he turned to the Commander. "Anyway, Julius. It is important that we check this out before it gets out of hand. We need to send an officer in."  
  
"I told you not to call me Julius!" The Commander said through gritted teeth.  
  
Foaly held up his hairy hands mock apologetically. "Sorry, your worshipness. It will never happen again, Julius."  
  
Commander Root snarled. "Alright then, I suppose I am forced to send in Holly for this job."  
  
"Yep, have her at the Ops booth in five." Then the screen went blank.  
  
The Commander swiveled in his chair to face Holly, his face the trademark hue of magenta. "Well, what are you waiting for?! Go!"  
  
Holly nodded, "Yes, sir." and left the office in the direction of the Ops booth.  
  
~*~  
  
Butler sprinted down the corridor, sweat trickled down his face and neck. Artemis had suddenly disappeared from the monitors into a blind spot of the outside security cameras, which he would have to fix later. After Artemis had not reappeared for quite some time Butler had decided to investigate. Searching the entire garden, in every bush, behind every tree, and around every fountain, Artemis was nowhere to be found. According to the security cameras Artemis was not in the Manor either, and he knew there were no blind spots for the inside cameras. Despite Butler's increasing fatigue from all the running, he knew something was amiss. His soldier's sense was screaming at him from the back of his head like a tone deaf opera singer.  
  
He rounded a corner and ran into Belle, whom he grabbed by the shoulders and started to yell at desperately. "Have you seen Artemis anywhere? He has disappeared, I can't find him!"  
  
Startled, Belle struggled from his grip. "What do you mean Artemis disappeared?"  
  
"He's gone! He went into a blind spot from the security cameras in the garden, and he didn't come out again. So I went to look for him, and he wasn't there!" Butler hoped anxiously that Belle knew where Artemis was.  
  
Belle looked at the muscular man towering above her in shock. "So you mean you don't know where he is? You've lost him?!"  
  
Butler rubbed his temples, his hopes gone. Belle didn't know where he was either.  
  
Great worry creased the girl's face. "There is no telling where he could be! He could get himself into all sorts of trouble with all his memory gone!" Belle paused, horror filling her eyes. "He could be anywhere, anything could happen to him! He could be hurt! He could be in the Sahara desert, or in China, or at the San Diego Zoo!"  
  
Butler blinked. "How could he possibly have gotten to those places?"  
  
The blonde shrugged. "I dunno, but I have learned over time that Artemis can be very unpredictable. He works in mysterious ways, and he has more resources than you may think."  
  
The bodyguard scratched his head. "Uh... Belle, maybe you should go get some shut eye, I'll find Artemis."  
  
Belle glared at him indignantly. "No. I'm going to help find Artemis. There is now way you can stop me."  
  
Butler opened his mouth to argue, but feminine voice from the shadows startled him, and also happened to spark a memory that with it came a name, and that name was Holly.  
  
~*~  
  
Holly fluttered through the dark hallways of Fowl Manor unseen to the eyes of the cameras or the eyes of the two Mud Men in the hallway behind her shield. After finding no clues to the disappearance of Artemis Fowl in the garden, Holly had been told by a frantic Foaly to ask the other inhabitants of Fowl Manor for any knowledge they might have of the mystery. Of course, in this case 'ask' meant mesmerize, even though Butler would most likely recognize her, and the new member of the Fowl residence Belle Sampson would be meeting the fairies for the first time, under the mesmer both would give all information they had and wake up in a couple of hours with no memory of her, thanks to the handy little mind wipe unit strapped to her belt.  
  
She positioned herself in a shadowy corner and took out her gun. She unshielded, startling the two arguing Mud Men. "Hello there, now look at me!" The humans turned to look at her, unwittingly making eye contact with her. "Now, tell me everything you know about Artemis Fowl Junior's recent disappearance." Her voice was layered heavily with the mesmer. The girl went under easily, but the strong-minded Butler needed a bit more persuading.  
  
Butler resisted the mesmer, just like the first time Holly had tried. All of a sudden he was remembering things, kidnapping Captain Holly Short of the LEP, saving the fairy world from Opal Koboi and Briar Cudgeon, and getting shot in a restaurant by Arno Blunt. His head throbbed painfully as he suddenly remembered all the adventures he had had with the fairies.  
  
Beside him Belle started to babble in accordance to Holly's command. "Arty went bye-bye a long time ago... yeah, and ever since that crash he hasn't come back. Well, it was like his head had gone somewhere else... maybe he is in the Sahara, or China, or Yugoslavia..."  
  
Holly glanced distractedly at Belle, confused with what she was saying, having no knowledge of the car crash.  
  
With Holly's eye contact with Butler broken it gave him just enough time to remember something. The mesmer could not penetrate reflective surfaces. By chance he had decided to do some weeding in the garden earlier that day, and since it had been a particularly sunny July day he had decided to wear a pair of mirrored sunglasses, which he had only just remembered his original cause for buying them, and they were still concealed in one of his shirt pockets. Before Holly could realize what he was doing Butler had snapped out the glasses and placed them over his eyes, shielding him from any future attempts of the mesmer by Holly.  
  
The fairy captain turned back to Butler, startled by his sudden flash of motion. She gasped as she realized what had happened, the Commander wouldn't be happy about this.  
  
"Captain Short, long time, no see." Butler's face stretched in a smile, Holly wasn't sure if it was of relief or menace.  
  
She replied, picking her words carefully. "Yes, Butler. It has been a long time, it seems that you have been quicker to remember than I thought."  
  
Butler nodded, his smile disappeared. "Hmm, I see that you fairies have not quit surveillance of Fowl Manor."  
  
Belle was silent beside Butler, her eyes crossed with a silly smile on her face. "You can never be too careful." Holly said.  
  
Butler nodded again, his expression now spoke of serious business. "It seems you already know that Artemis has disappeared. Tell me what you know."  
  
"I can't tell you that, Butler. This is strictly LEP business, I can no longer allow Mud Men to get involved with my missions. The People will take care of this."  
  
"So you expect me to just sit around doing absolutely nothing, waiting for you to bring Artemis back to me?"  
  
Holly thought she could detect a threat in his voice. "No, Butler. I know that is not how you work. You will try to help Artemis yourself, but I cannot help you."  
  
Butler was quiet for a moment. "I have to help him, Holly. Anything could be happening to him, he could be anywhere. What must I do to get to at least tell me what you know?"  
  
Holly thought for a trice. "If I tell you everything I know, will you tell me what you know?"  
  
Butler shrugged. "There I cannot help you. I know absolutely nothing of how he disappeared, he was in a camera blind spot."  
  
Holly looked at the mesmerized Belle. "Then what of this crash she told me about?"  
  
The massive bodyguard nodded. "There I can help you. Six weeks ago Artemis, Mr. and Mrs. Fowl, and Belle were caught in a car crash. The chauffeur was supposedly drunk, the same with the truck driver that hit them. Mr. and Mrs. Fowl are still in a coma. Artemis suffered from amnesia, he hasn't remembered a single thing ever since the crash. I guess that is what Belle meant, he hasn't been the same since that car crash."  
  
The fairy officer frowned, "I knew nothing of this crash. Hmm... Okay, we had a deal, I guess I have to hold up my part of the bargain." She looked at Butler, ready to start her story. "Foaly was watching the cameras that were monitoring Fowl Manor when he disappeared. Luckily, our camera caught sight of the entire scene. An unidentified being kidnapped him, he was clothed in a black cloak, and had a knife."  
  
"Did he hurt Artemis?" Butler looked worried.  
  
Captain Short shook her head. "We couldn't see anything, they were turned away from the camera. But when they left Artemis was unconscious."  
  
Butler frowned. "Go on. What happened next?"  
  
Holly bit her lip. "They disappeared."  
  
"Shielded?"  
  
Holly shrugged. "Dunno. I don't think it was shielding though, when the camera was frozen nothing showed up."  
  
"Nothing? Nothing at all?"  
  
Holly nodded.  
  
Butler's frown deepened. "So that is all?"  
  
Holly nodded again. "Yeah. So if you don't know anything, then that is all we got."  
  
"Then how are we going to find Artemis?"  
  
Holly shrugged. "I guess we will have to wait for a ransom note or something. Foaly has already tried everything he can. There is absolutely no trace of them."  
  
Butler's face was filled with worry. "Something tells me that an adventure is about to begin. And I'm not going to enjoy it."  
  
~*~  
  
Artemis groaned, he had an awful headache, and his neck was horribly sore. Without opening his eyes he tried to collect his senses. He could remember being grabbed in the dark, and then growing sleepy. Artemis peeped one eye open, and then closed it again, not believing what he saw. He had expected a cold, damp cell, but what he saw was just the opposite. He opened both eyes this time, and saw that his eyes were not tricking him.  
  
He sat up in the soft feather down bed, its silken crimson sheets and silvery top quilt warmed his body. The four walls of a beautifully decorated room surrounded him. Furniture, fantastically carved of a strange silvery wood, creatures and scenes of a mystical beauty seemed to come alive in the carvings and the tapestries that hung on the walls. A sculpture of a horrible rearing dragon out of some odd black metal and rubies set in its face in place of eyes perched on a ledge above a great fireplace, the hearth was blazing with a lively fire. But the fire spurted arms of bluish flame, no sign of any shade of red, and the blaze appeared to need no wood to live, for no wood could Artemis see.  
  
The luscious, patterned carpet gently cradled his bare feet as he stepped out of the warm bed to inspect his new surroundings. Artemis realized then, that this room did not seem new to him at all, it seemed strangely familiar. Maybe, before he had lost his memory, he had been here before? This bedroom chamber was fit for a king, but there were two things missing: windows, and doors. Artemis accepted this revelation with a strange calmness, it all seemed completely normal. He was sure that he had been here before. But when?  
  
He walked across the room, feeling almost at home, if it wasn't for the strange emotion that was swelling in his chest, from his very heart. He recognized this feeling as that of foreboding. Something from inside him was telling him that this was not a good place, though why such a beautiful room was evil he did not know.  
  
Artemis came to a standing mirror, its frame carved with the shapes of mythical creatures like unicorns, dragons, and giant wolves. The pale boy looked at his reflection, startled to find that he found no surprise in what he saw. He was dressed in the strangest costume he had ever seen. Around his head was a headdress, it reminded him vaguely of fox ears, and around his lower body a garment of a skirt-like shape clothed his body, behind him the long tail of his outfit swept down to the floor, but the front was shorter, reaching just past his knees. Over his chest and around his shoulders a strange silvery garment hung. Just like the rest of the costume everything was made of a silvery metal and glittering diamonds and odd dark jewels. In the middle of the chest piece was a large black crystal, it was the largest stone of the costume, and it caught Artemis's attention. It seemed special in a way, like he remembered it differently.  
  
***  
  
He smiled at the crowd before him, hundreds of thousands of creatures of all kinds, cheering. He was dressed in the crystal outfit, but the diamonds glittered more brightly, the dark jewels were no longer black, but a deep, deep blue that matched his eyes. Everything was as it should be, the entire scene seemed completely right. He had his people, and his beautiful queen standing beside him on the balcony overlooking the great crystalline city. On his other side was his faithful servant and bodyguard. He was happy, everything was in the right place.  
  
***  
  
Artemis came back to reality with a start. Had that been a memory? He was excited, he was starting to remember things. But what had that memory been about? Had he been a king once some time? The memory had been hazy and short, maybe he had misread it.  
  
Artemis twirled around, watching his reflection in the mirror. The costume glittered dully, unlike in his memory when it had seemed to shine with light of its own. There wasn't a speck of cloth on him, it was all made of a strange silvery metal. But the material did not clink and jingle when he moved, and it felt strangely soft and flexible. The outfit was not heavy, in fact Artemis felt like he was a feather on the wind when he leaped and twirled around in front of the mirror. He studied his mirrored self, marveling at the strangeness and yet the familiarity he felt for the outfit.  
  
Artemis frowned, in the reflection upon his neck he a blistering burn. This he realized was the reason why his neck was so sore. He touched it tentatively, he could remember a knife being pressed against his neck, and feeling his neck burn where the blade touched. Artemis retracted his hand, the feeling of foreboding and danger in his chest was stronger now that he remembered he had been taken here by force.  
  
Artemis swallowed, for the first time feeling uneasy about there not being any windows or doors. Then he wondered, how did one get in or out? The chimney, his mind answered. He turned away from the mirror to the fireplace, the eerie blue fire was still bright. He walked to the hearth, kneeling down in front of it. Artemis realized that the fire produced no heat, only light; it was then that he noticed how cold he was. Artemis took an iron poker from its holder beside the fireplace and poked it at the seemingly burning logs. Blue sparks dispersed into the air, waiting a moment until fading into nothing. After a couple of minutes Artemis pulled the poker out, he carefully felt the tip of the poker where the flame had touched. It was not hot, it wasn't even warm. Artemis frowned and his eyebrows pulled down into a puzzled expression. He replaced the poker it its holder and then stuck his own hand into the flame. His skin did not burn, the fire gave no warm. Instead his entire hand tickled wherever the flame touched, like there was no fire there, but just a cool breeze against his hand.  
  
Artemis retracted his hand from the hearth. Now that he had determined that the fire was not dangerous in any way Artemis poked his head into the fireplace in search of the way out. He looked up, expecting to see the sky at the top of the chimney. But what he found disappointed him, a dark silvery grate blocked the way to what looked like a starry night sky at the top of the chimney. Seeing the sky suddenly filled him with a great need to be free of this mysterious room, as if a spell over him had been broken. Artemis pushed at the grate, hoping it would give so he could climb up the chimney. But the moment he touched the silvery metal his hands started to burn and blister. Artemis cried out, the pain spreading up his arms. He suddenly felt very dizzy and sleepy, vaguely he recognized that the grate was made of the same metal as the knife that had burned him the night before. Then he dropped off into unconsciousness.  
  
***  
  
Artemis was dreaming. He was dreaming of a time that he did not remember. These dreams were vague and hazy, but his memory was fitting them together piece by piece. He dreamed of people, places, creatures, and languages that he had thought had not existed. He dreamed of mythical creatures, fairies, centaurs, water and wood and prairie nymphs, unicorns, dwarves, elves, giants, dragons, and anything else that was ever in a fairy tale and more. He dreamed of magic, and strange mystical arts and literatures that had some thing to do with it. He remembered learning countless spells, charms, curses, and wardings. He also remembered strange languages that he had not known existed. Then he remembered the school from which he had learned all these things...  
  
"Now everyone, please open your astronomy books to page seventy- three?" These words came from a teacher standing in front of the room. Her graying hair tied up into a tight bun at the nape of her neck and her purple robe cloaking her aging body, Mrs. Ugresfaar held an authority of a gentle kind, but nothing escaped the nanny's intense blue eyes, so misbehavior always brought punishment to even the sneakiest of the students. The students included the seven-year-old Artemis, whom sat in the middle of the first row, with his black robe and the silver circlet around his head he held the air of royalty about him. On one side of him was Mika the prairie nymph, and on the other side was Katherine, her eyes fixed fondly on the prince beside her. In the row behind, was Nuru the wood nymph, the brother of Mika, and Nolee the elf. In the last row was Kyle the mischievous sprite, and Joel the forgetful centaur, both of which were in time out, as they usually were.  
  
Mrs. Ugresfaar continued, "Today's lesson will be on how to listen to the stars. Not all of you will be able to master this skill, as you should know by now goes with all lessons that I give you, but this skill, though difficult to learn, is very useful. Just as I have recently taught you how to listen to trees, plants, wind, water, and the earth, you can learn many things from stars. You could learn news of distant lands or worlds, or if you truly master this skill then you can draw magic from the stars. Any questions?"  
  
Nolee's hand went up. But before the teacher could ask her to state her question the image of the wizardry classroom faded away and was replaced with a new one.  
  
Water trickled in a stream nearby, the scent of flowers filled the air. Artemis was in the castle garden, with the one whom he expected to become his queen some day. Katherine sat beside him on the bench, speaking softly in his ear, what she said he could not remember, but the feeling of it all soothed his mind and warmed his heart.  
  
He put his arm around her shoulders and leaned in toward her face. But before their lips touched the memory faded and another began.  
  
Artemis was on his way to his crowning ceremony, in only a couple of hours he would be crowned King of the great country that had been passed down through his family for centuries. But it was not a happy day. He was much too young to be King, his parents had been murdered by some evil force which he could not quite remember, and now since his country was in desperate need of a King to defend it in the wars that were breaking out everywhere he was forced to choose a queen. He had decided on Katherine of course. But he was very worried about her, he was forcing her into a great responsibility, and he wasn't sure if she would accept or not, despite how many times she had said she wanted to be with him forever more.  
  
Artemis had come to the great hall where the ceremony would take place. His faithful manservant, Roiben, opened the enormous carved doors for him. Trumpets sounded as he entered the hall and stepped onto the long decorated rug that ran the length of the isle up to the pedestal where his fox-ear crown, jeweled spear-like staff and- he was relieved to see- his queen waited.  
  
Then the dream faded, to be replaced by a new one, but in truth this one could be described as a nightmare.  
  
Zephyrs brought the scent of flowers to the young royal couple on the balcony from the garden below. King Artemis gently brushed his hand through his queen's blonde hair. Katherine whispered something in his ear. All was calm and beautiful, and the two teenage lovers were oblivious to the warning calls of the trees, earth, flowers, and water from the garden below. Nor did they hear the soft voice of the wind that was swirling around them, or the wise voice of the stars. The elements were trying to warn them of something, and that something was now a dark shadow in the sky. It swooped down towards the balcony...  
  
All after that Artemis only remembered darkness, blood, pain, and grief. For this creature that attacked in the night was the evil that had killed his parents. Now it was back for him and Katherine...  
  
The last image of the nightmare flashed through Artemis's mind. He was held aloft in the evil dragon creature's claws, being carried away into the night. Below him he glimpsed the crumbled balcony, and below that in the garden amongst the shattered remains of the balcony was Katherine, her chest cleaved open and her blood spilled over the springy grass of the garden, her eyes stared up at the sky, lifeless.  
  
"... Belle..." He mouthed, tears streaming down his cheeks and his heart filled with uttermost grief.  
  
Then everything faded into blackness. And Artemis slept restlessly, not knowing that he was being watched by the ruby red eyes of his captor.  
  
~*~  
  
A/N: Oooohh... a bit of a cliffy there! Heh heh heh... This may be a bit confusing. This story is supposed to be a bit mysterious and everything will piece together as the story goes along, just like a jigsaw puzzle! I like puzzles... specially the really complex ones, so just think of it this way, this is a really complex puzzle and I just haven't given you all the pieces yet! Review please!!! 


	5. Alletombe Rhane lon Merlyon

A/N: Hi peoples! Yay! I'm back! Hope you enjoy this chapter!  
  
Replies to reviewers:  
  
DragonAngel: I'm absolutely positive I'm not Eoin, but I'm pleased that you think my writing is that good! :'[ But why does everyone want Belle to die? Well, Katherine dies in this chapter... does that satisfy your need for my character's blood?  
  
snake-eyes1013: Yeah, it may be confusing now but it starts to fit together piece by piece. You'll see!  
  
Spectra16: It will get a little less confusing as it goes along.  
  
Night: Think you know? I bet you don't! 'Cause there is more to this kidnapper than just a fire breathing beast...  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with the Artemis Fowl books.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Crouching Secrets, Hidden Memories  
  
Chapter 5: Alle-tombe Rhane lon Merlyon  
  
His hand was gentle as his fingers combed her hair, his body warm pressed against her own; his arm around her gave her a soothing feeling of protection. To Katherine everything was perfect and happy. Regardless of her title as Queen of Tithi (TII-thee), she was with her one true love, Artemis Rath Rye Merlyon, her husband.  
  
Together they ruled over the magical nation of Tithi. Peace had reigned over all of the countries of the Faerie Realm for many thousands of years. But now wars threatened amongst the many magical peoples of the Realm. Many said the red-eyed dragon of legend was returning to gain revenge on the descendent of the hero that had overthrown it thousands of years ago.  
  
As the legend went, about seven thousand years ago, Tithi and the rest of the Faerie Realm had been ruled by a group of demonic deities. There were seven in all, one for each country of the Realm. Ahriman had ruled Dieter (DEE-ter), the desert land. Kake (KAH-keh) had controlled Pegaios (PEG-a-ohs), the country of the mer. Kerberos had controlled the underground world of Dagdas. Eowyna had taken over the sweet meadows and plains of Euthalia. Nephele had ruled the mountains and airways of Govados. Orphne had taken over the peaceful land of Fionn. And the red-eyed dragon, Meru in the Old Tongue, had taken Tithi. According to the legend each of the evil rulers required a sort of tax from the people they ruled. This tax was called the Tithe. Each ruler asked for something different, but Meru demanded to have a Tithien child sacrificed to her as the Tithe. The child needed to have strong magical powers in order to be eligible for the Tithe. This was because Meru's demand was for the children to pledge their magic and soul to Meru before they were sacrificed. When they died during Meru's special ritual all the children's power was added to Meru's, strengthening her even more.  
  
Meru and the other demon rulers ruled the people of the Faerie Realm for no one knows how long, for during the demons' rule all documents containing any sort of information had been destroyed. But one day, a young Tithien wizard with enormous magical powers had risen against Meru. Soon Meru had been over thrown, and so were the rest of the demons, with help from other wizard heroes and heroines from the other six countries. Of course, before all of this was accomplished there had been a terrible, bloody war, but in the end the good had prevailed over evil. Just like any other human fairy tale, everything ended in peace and goodness. The Tithien wizard and the others became heroes in all the nations, the Tithien hero's name was Rand Merlyon. Rand ascended to become King of Tithi, and his blood stayed in the royal family for the next seven thousand years.  
  
Artemis was heir to the thrown by royal blood, which made him the descendent of King Rand. That meant Meru would have to sacrifice him in order to retake the thrown. Though Katherine doubted Artemis would ever give in and pledge his magic and soul to anybody, especially not a big, ugly, demon dragon. But she wouldn't let Meru take him from her, Artemis belonged to her, and nobody but her, she knew he would agree.  
  
But why should she worry? It was only legend, myth. There was no such thing as a demon dragon named Meru that planned to take over Tithi. There never was and never would be anything of the like.  
  
Katherine brought her head out of her thoughts and whispered seductively in Artemis's ear. "I love you, Artemis. I always will and nothing can stop me. I will love you forever, not even death can stop me."  
  
Before Artemis could even prepare a reply something swooped down on the balcony where they stood. Under the creature's weight the balcony collapsed and Artemis and Katherine tumbled down to the garden below. Acting quickly Artemis wove a levitation spell around them and they floated easily down to the ground.  
  
Ready for action, Artemis pulled a necklace from his neck, a moonstone that he had inherited with the thrown, it was said that Rand Merlyon himself had used in his battle against the demons. As Artemis chanted an incantation under his breath the magical stone transformed into a long, elaborate spear, he wielded it expertly, having been taught how to use almost any weapon by the palace Sword Master Orca. The tip of the magical spear glowed softly, the blade was actually made from moonstone, but it was much, much stronger than metal.  
  
The creature that had collapsed the balcony roared. Katherine gasped when she looked up. Black scales gave a smooth, slimy look to the dragon's skin, its bony wings flapped furiously to keep the creature aloft. Ruby red eyes glared down at them, like two windows into a blazing hell. This was one of her deepest most secret fears. Meru, the red-eyed dragon had returned to the Faerie Realm, and it wanted her Arty.  
  
Meru blasted a spell at her; it was too quick and too powerful for her or Artemis to deflect. Katherine fell back onto the ground; she could feel a paralysis spell taking hold of her. Meanwhile Artemis launched himself at the demon, his magical weapon in hand.  
  
Before Meru's spell completely over took her, Katherine had to act quickly. She quickly wove an anti-spell charm around herself, but it was already too late. Katherine's body was completely immobile, and her thoughts came muddled and hazy. It took all the strength she had to get a look at how Artemis was doing. She saw him thrown into a garden wall, which collapsed around him. A good thing Artemis had quick reflexes or the falling stones would have crushed him without the protection spell he had cast. Vaguely, she wondered why the palace guards hadn't come yet.  
  
A deep, rumbling voice answered her thoughts. "The demon dragon has cast a great spell over the castle, none of the guards are aware of what is happening."  
  
With a start she realized the voice of the earth had answered her. Artemis had never been able to hear the earth but to Katherine the voice was loud and clear. Katherine asked the earth in her thoughts, "Is this really Meru? Does Artemis have a chance?"  
  
"Yes, child," Answered the resonant voice, "this is Meru, the red-eyed dragon. After seven thousand years the demon has returned."  
  
"What about Artemis? Will he be okay?" She asked.  
  
The voice was silent for a moment. "I'm afraid, my child, that Artemis has little of a chance. Meru has great power, and Artemis has been taken by surprise, giving Meru the advantage."  
  
At this Katherine fought with more desperation than ever to disentangle the paralysis spell from herself. Artemis was holding his own with the dragon for now it seemed, but he needed her help.  
  
"Though Meru cannot be defeated in this life, perhaps in the next. And then, I'm sure, you and Artemis may reunite."  
  
Katherine fought the spell, she could feel it beginning to loosen, and she could twitch her fingers now.  
  
"Never give up child, true love lasts forever."  
  
That was the last she heard of the sweet voice of the earth, because Meru was now towering above her, a struggling Artemis gripped in one massive claw. She saw that he had dropped his spear somewhere, and his face was bloodied, but he fought none the less. The dragon raised one cruelly curved claw, ready to strike. As the claw came down, piercing open her chest, her mind held on to one last thought, '... Not even death can stop me...'  
  
***  
  
Belle awoke with a start. No, she wasn't Katherine, she was Belle. But the dream had been so vivid, just like a memory from yesterday. It had certainly made her believe that she had been Katherine, Queen of Tithi. Wherever Tithi was she didn't know...  
  
Belle stood up, she found herself in a garden. It was a beautiful garden, but the edges of her vision blurred, like in a dream. She concluded that she was still asleep, and she soon found that she was in the garden of the palace that she had been dreaming about only a moment before. She stepped forward, wondering why her mind seemed unable to tear away from this fantasy world it had created. There was no such thing as magic! Of course this had to be a dream. She stepped out from a copse of blossoming trees that she could not name, their sweet scent filling her nostrils. She saw above her the balcony where Artemis and her dream self called Katherine had stood, it was no longer rubble on the ground but completely intact and exactly where it should be. The corpse of Katherine was not there either, it seemed as though the incident with the dragon had not happened here at all.  
  
Belle noticed something glint in a flower bed; she walked towards it, curious. When she knelt down to take a closer look she found herself looking at the strange necklace Artemis had used to fight the dragon. The moonstone was a deep, deep blue; it reminded her of Artemis's eyes. The stone was set in an ornate silver necklace, the silver was formed in some strange design she didn't recognize, but it was a gorgeous piece. She picked it up by the hair-thin silver chain that had held the jewel around Artemis's neck. She examined it carefully; positive she remembered it from somewhere. She took the pendant in her hand, it was slightly smaller than her fist but she didn't find it as heavy as she had thought.  
  
Suddenly the moonstone started to glow strangely, her surroundings blurred and shifted, and she found herself in what looked like the private chambers of some wealthy lord, but at second glance she realized there where no doors or windows. Without any way to get in or out she wondered what people could possibly use this room for. She turned around and cried out in delight, she had found Artemis! He was twirling around in front of a standing mirror in a strange outfit. The outfit, she suddenly remembered from somewhere, which was traditional for Tithien kings to wear.  
  
Artemis must not have heard her, because he didn't turn toward her. She ran to him, ready to embrace him. But her arms past right through him, and it was then she discovered that she was transparent. Belle looked at her translucent arms, she reached for Artemis again. Her hand made no contact with his skin and it went right through his body. She retracted her hand, Artemis obviously couldn't see, or hear, or feel her, and her arm had gone right through him without even a shudder. Belle found herself looking at the moonstone, it was still glowing a soft blue.  
  
This was a dream world of course, things didn't have to make sense. She should just go with the flow. But why, she wondered, did everything seem so vivid and real? It hadn't been like this when she had normal dreams.  
  
Suddenly, her vision started to darken; she could feel the presence of some evil force in the back of her mind. 'Was it Meru she?' she wondered distantly. The moonstone pulsed in her hand. The darkness was pushing her away from the image of Artemis, everything was becoming black. The moonstone shone increasingly brighter; vaguely her mind said it was keeping her safe from something, something evil. Then the light of the moonstone disappeared.  
  
***  
  
Belle woke sleeping on a couch in the Fowl's living room. 'What an odd dream...' she thought to herself. But it hadn't quite felt like a dream, it felt something closer to reality. A memory? Her mind suggested, but she knew that had to be impossible. Since when had she been Queen of a nation called Tithi? Though she fantasized about marrying Artemis one day, they had been much too young. It had been a dream, only a fantasy of her mind.  
  
When she sat up she felt a small weight around her neck. She fumbled around her shoulders in search of the annoyance. Belle's fingers closed around a slim chain, she pulled it up over her head. When she took a look at what she had found on her person she could have fainted. It was Artemis's pendent, the moonstone in her dream. Her jaw dropped, and she wondered if she was still dreaming, but no, she was awake most definitely. The pendent was just like in her dream, same weight, same size, and same color. But then she had thought it didn't exist; now she was holding it in her hands, and it definitely felt real.  
  
Belle couldn't remember any necklace like this. Then where had it come from? She searched her mind for a reason it had appeared around her neck, but nothing that her mind supplied seemed logical.  
  
She had never seen the necklace before, then she had dreamed about it, and then it simply appeared out of nowhere. Things like this just didn't happen. Belle stared at the deep blue gem and thought, perplexed. Artemis would be able to figure all this out, she was sure. If he had all his memory and knowledge back he would be able to come up with a logical explanation on the minute. Belle thought harder, and she started into the moonstone. Blue, deep, dark, blue... it was the exact color of Artemis's eyes... She gazed into the jewel, her mind relaxing into a trance...  
  
"Serenity,"  
  
She gave a start and looked around the room for who had spoken.  
  
"Queen Katherine," the voice was resonant in her mind, and Belle almost mistook it for the voice of the Earth from her dream.  
  
"W-who's there?" She called out hesitantly in the enormous Fowl's living room.  
  
"I am not a who, or a what, I simply am. Do you not remember me, your highness?"  
  
A shiver went down her spine, as the fact just registered itself in her brain that the voice had called her Queen Katherine. Who could know about her dream?  
  
"I suppose not. But do not worry, things will clear with time."  
  
Belle looked down into her hands when she realized that the moonstone had grown warm. The stone was shining like in her dream, there seemed to be movement just beneath the surface of the crystal, like it was filled with a substance that was a mixture of water and light.  
  
Belle swallowed, "Um, is that you...?" She felt silly, necklaces couldn't talk!  
  
The necklace chuckled mentally, "'You' wouldn't be the best way to address me, as I am not a living being, but neither am I an inanimate object. But if you must call me something my first master long ago named me 'Alle-tombe Rhane lon Merlyon'."  
  
Alle-tombe- immortal, ever living, undying... Belle blinked, she realized she understood the language. Was she going insane?  
  
The moonstone's watery, breathy voice continued, even though there was no throat from which to come from. "Translated from the Old Tongue into your language that means 'Immortal Guardian of Merlyon'. But instead of pronouncing my entire name my masters usually simply call me Rhane."  
  
'Hadn't Merlyon been Artemis's last name in my dream?' Belle thought. She shifted in her seat; everything seemed so vague and mysterious all of a sudden, none of this was making sense.  
  
"Now, I suppose I should get to the point why I have come to you, my mistress. Do you remember anything at all other than the dream I just sent you? Well, I suppose I shouldn't even ask. Meru did an impressive job on those memory suppressing spells."  
  
Belle stood up abruptly, "Meru was that thing that attacked us in my dream!" Belle stared incredulously at this necklace that had appeared out of nowhere. "Are you saying that was real?" She said it quietly, feeling stupid the instant it left her lips.  
  
"Oh yes, of course it was real. It was a memory of yours from long ago that Meru had suppressed with her spell. But it was a strong one, seeing as it was your very last before your first death it was easy to trigger it and to free you at least partly from Meru's spell."  
  
Belle was getting awfully confused now, "So this Meru creature put a spell on me so I wouldn't remember things? I don't get it."  
  
"Yes, yes. Now, I must explain. All of this started thousands of years ago, in another world and another dimension. You would know this place as the Faerie Realm, if you could remember it. Do you remember the legend of the War of Rebellion? It should have been included in your dream."  
  
Belle thought for a moment, in her dream she had been thinking about it while she was with Artemis. She nodded.  
  
"Good, I won't need to go into detail then. So, I don't know if you remember this part of the legend or not, but Rand Merlyon, my first master, created me then so that I could help in the battle against the league of demon gods.  
  
"In the first years since my creation I battled along side my master, gathering experience and wisdom. Since then I have been passed down in the Merlyon family, called upon from time to time by Rand's descendents for both protection and guidance. All persons bearing the name of the royal Merlyon are the people who I protect."  
  
Belle frowned, "But then why did you come to me? My name is not Merlyon."  
  
She felt like Rhane was smiling at her as it said, "But your serenity, your name is Merlyon! You are still married to Artemis! And you complied with the required oath and magical bond to Artemis in order to take the name of Merlyon. I protect you too, you are my mistress, and Artemis is my master."  
  
Belle's stomach did a flip. "What do you mean I'm 'still' married to Artemis?"  
  
"You married him seven thousand years ago; did you think the bond had been broken? True love lasts forever! Everyone knows that."  
  
That was exactly what the voice of the Earth had told her in her dream- or memory, whatever it was. This was getting really weird. "So, what do you want then?"  
  
"Ah yes, my point;" said the breathy voice. "You know how Artemis has recently disappeared? That was Meru, she kidnapped him, and she intends to make him give all his magic and soul to her so that she can retake Tithi. She did not succeed the first time because Artemis was too strong willed; she could not make him betray you and all of Tithi. But now that she has succeeded in capturing him at a vulnerable time she may get her will. This time Artemis doesn't remember anything. Therefore it might be that much easier for her to manipulate him.  
  
"Now, in this time of danger, I have come out of my seven hundred year sleep so that we can save him, before Meru destroys him."  
  
It took a moment for all of this information to register in Belle's brain. "Wait a second, so Artemis has magic? And Meru wants it?"  
  
"Exactly. Are you ready to go?"  
  
Belle blinked, "Go where?"  
  
"To the Faerie Realm, your highness. That is where Artemis is."  
  
Belle felt like the world was falling apart she was so confused. "So you mean... we are going to this Faerie Realm place?"  
  
"Of course we are." Was Rhane's reply.  
  
She sat back down on the Fowl's couch. Here she was in the Fowl's living room talking to a magical necklace that wanted her to go to a different dimension to save her boyfriend. Again, Belle had to check if she wasn't still dreaming. She wasn't, was the unfortunate answer her brain gave her. "W-w- how..." She let her stuttering sentence trail. Maybe she was going insane! That had to be it. But how could she prove to herself this that it was all a fantasy of her mind?  
  
Belle got up and ran out of the Fowl's living room in search of her adoptive father, whom she was sure would be able to sort out her mind.  
  
~*~  
  
Butler was just about to say goodbye to Holly when Belle crashed into the room.  
  
"Butler! Butler!" She held up a silver necklace with a blue crystal embedded in the pendant. He had never seen it before. "This necklace talked to me! Can you believe it? It talked to me! And it says Artemis was kidnapped by this evil Meru person that wants to take his soul and stuff so she can take over this place called Tithi that is supposed to be in this Faerie Realm thingy that is a different dimension! And, and, Artemis was King of this Tithi place and I was married to him! And the necklace says that the marriage still stands!" Belle was frantic, hysterical.  
  
Butler simply raised his eyebrow at this absurd story and Holly laughed as she took out the mind wipe unit and fired it up.  
  
Belle caught his look. "It's true! Really!" Then she saw Holly. "Hey, who are you?"  
  
Holly didn't even bother to answer her question as she flew down to Belle's level with her Neutrino 2000 on stun.  
  
Belle stood there oblivious to the gun. She was a bit perturbed when she figured Holly wasn't going to answer her, and she was the kind of girl who really didn't like being ignored. "Hey! Are you going to answer me? I ASKED WHO YOU ARE!!!!! ARE YOU DEAF???? CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW????"  
  
Holly winced at the pitch of Belle's voice as she took aim, but before she pulled the trigger something truly astonishing happened.  
  
With a roar the necklace in Belle's hand transformed into an enormous black jaguar, teeth bared, claws raking, the monstrous cat leapt upon Holly, knocking the Neutrino from her hand. Holly was pinned to the ground by the jaguar, and a silence filled the room as the human and fairy occupants stared in shock.  
  
"Well? What do you want me to do with your attacker, your serenity?" The cat spoke to Belle, whom was quite pale at the moment.  
  
"H-h-how... You never told me you could do that!" Belle said incredulously.  
  
The cat simply shrugged its powerful shoulders. "You never asked."  
  
"What on Earth is going on here?" Butler said.  
  
Holly protested from underneath the cat, but did not speak for fear of provoking the jaguar into hurting her.  
  
But Belle had forgotten the other occupants of the room. "That was so cool! What else can you do?"  
  
"I can do many things, mistress. I am yours to command, just name your order." Rhane replied.  
  
Then Butler cut in. "Wait, Belle, that thing said you could command it, tell it to get off Holly!"  
  
Belle replied snidely. "Well, Holly is her name? Okay, that is all I wanted. She should have listened to me," then an evil glint came into her eyes, that reminded everyone eerily of Artemis. "Well, since this Holly was so mean to me her punishment is being sat on by Rhane."  
  
And then, Rhane promptly lay down on top of Holly, much to Holly's displeasure.  
  
"Ow! Get this thing off me! It's crushing me!" She struggled desperately  
  
Belle was very pleased with her new power. "That's too bad for you, you meanie. And Rhane isn't a thing; Rhane is... erm... Rhane." She finished lamely, having been previously informed that the only thing she could really address Rhane as was Rhane.  
  
"Belle be reasonable, get that thi- Rhane off Holly." Butler tried to persuade Belle.  
  
"No, I won't. Because Holly was mean, and nobody is ever mean to Belle- I mean- Queen Belle."  
  
Butler raised an eyebrow; if he had a hairline then it would have reached it. "Er... Right, Queen Belle, Artemis would want you to do it."  
  
Belle blinked and looked at Holly, whom was almost completely obscured by the giant cat. "Really?"  
  
Butler nodded.  
  
Belle thought for a moment. "Okay, Rhane, get off her then."  
  
Once Holly was out from under the weight of the black jaguar she retreated over to Butler, the cat was bigger than she was and she didn't want it to pounce upon her again. "What on Earth is going on here? Where did the cat come from?"  
  
Belle beamed. "This is Rhane. Rhane this is Butler right here, and I don't know this Holly person."  
  
The jaguar scrutinized Butler with dark blue eyes, and then its eyes widened as it realized something. "Roiben! That is you. I didn't think you would be here."  
  
Butler blinked. "Huh?"  
  
"Who's Roiben?" Belle asked.  
  
Rhane said. "Roiben was Artemis's manservant. He served and protected Artemis, and he was loyal even without the magical bond. I suppose you are yet another thread to be woven into the great tapestry of Fate. You as well," Rhane nodded at Holly, "otherwise you wouldn't be here."  
  
"The tapestry of Fate...? What in the name of Frond are you talking about?"  
  
"What I am talking about," said Rhane; "is that you are all fated to come with Belle and I into the Faerie Realm to save Artemis."  
  
Butler's eyebrows went up another notch. "Wait a moment, slow down here. What is this Faerie Realm? And why would Artemis be in this place?"  
  
The cat sat down on it's haunches to tell Holly and Butler the story it had told Belle. At first the two were rather skeptical, but then again, they were listening to a jaguar that had transformed from a necklace right in front of them. Even so they both had to pinch themselves once or twice during Rhane's story, but with their arms sore they realized that for now, they would have to believe it.  
  
"So, this Meru kidnapped Artemis and she wants him to surrender his soul and magic to her..."  
  
"Artemis had his own magic all this time? Why didn't he tell me?" That was one part of the story that everyone had trouble believing.  
  
"Yes, he does have magic. A lot of it. The only trouble is he couldn't quite remember how to use it. He remembered only bits of his life in the Faerie Realm, but enough that he knew to stay away from Meru. But then something must have happened to his memories, because otherwise Meru wouldn't have attacked." Rhane looked at Butler, Holly, and Belle, hoping they had the answer.  
  
"Well, Artemis got amnesia after that car crash. Could that be it?" Belle said hopefully.  
  
"No, no. Meru was the one who caused that crash. I have been watching her every move from the Faerie Realm for the past seven hundred years. Something happened before that."  
  
Then the realization came to Holly. "The mind-wipe! It must have been the mind-wipe! We might have erased those memories by accident."  
  
Belle's eyebrows drew together. "Mind-wipe? What is a mind- wipe?" Then Belle, having previously directed her attention mostly on Rhane, just noticed Holly's ears. "Hey, what's wrong with your ears, you deformed or something?"  
  
Holly glared at the girl indignantly. "No, I am not deformed. I'm a fairy. And I-"  
  
Rhane snorted. "You aren't a fairy, you are way too big; and where are your wings? You are an elf."  
  
"Sure I'm an elf, if you want to be specific. But I am most definitely not too big, and fairies don't have wings unless they're sprites."  
  
"Well actually, you are rather small for an elf; and what is this talk of fairies having no wings? Where I come from fairies have wings."  
  
Holly fumed at being called small, but she was curious. "So in the Faerie Realm fairies have wings?"  
  
"Of course they do."  
  
"Really? Then-"  
  
Butler cut her off. "So what was that you were saying before about saving Artemis?"  
  
Rhane stood up on all fours. "Yes. The three of you must come with me to the Faerie Realm to get Artemis back from Meru. But we must hurry; we have already wasted too much time."  
  
"Right. So how do we get to the Faerie Realm?" Belle inquired.  
  
The jaguar flexed its body. "I'm glad you asked."  
  
The next instant they were gone.  
  
~*~  
  
Artemis woke up for the second time since his capture with a headache. He opened his eyes and sat up. He found himself still in the windowless, door-less room. Someone had moved him to the bed, and his hands had been bandaged. He knew underneath the cloth he would find painful blisters and burns. Artemis scowled at the fireplace; he definitely wouldn't try touching that grate again.  
  
Then all of a sudden his dreams came back to him. He shivered, remembering Katherine's corpse. That had been Belle, it was the exact same face; only the hair was longer.  
  
Then the nightmares after that had been worse. He had been tortured, someone had wanted something from him, but he couldn't remember what. It had been in this very same room that those painful nightmares had taken place. But the person who was hurting him, the one that had given him so much pain, he could not remember the face.  
  
He looked up at the fireplace mantle where the rearing black dragon stood. Artemis stared at it. That was it, the creature that had swooped down on him and Katherine in his dream. A shiver went down his spine. Were these dreams memories? If that was true then when he had been here before it had not been a happy time.  
  
He got out of the overly comfortable bed and walked over to the mirror. He was still wearing the strange outfit from before. But himself was not all Artemis saw in the mirror. He spun around.  
  
The woman had not been there before. Artemis recognized the smooth golden brown skin and the long black hair, the red pupil- less eyes, and the shiny black dress that showed too much skin for Artemis's tastes. He knew this woman; but from where?  
  
She smiled at him. Artemis knew that malicious smile. "Meru?" He said doubtfully.  
  
Her smile widened. "So you remember me? I hoped you would, Arty."  
  
She stepped forward, and Artemis took a step back. He didn't like this woman, his heart told him so.  
  
Meru's face seemed almost innocent. "What's wrong Arty?" She took another couple of steps forward till they were inches apart.  
  
Artemis soon discovered that he couldn't go backwards any farther because the mirror blocked his way. She had cornered him.  
  
Meru reached out and stroked his cheek. "It's been such a long time, Arty. I'm glad we're together again."  
  
Artemis flinched away from her hand; her touch was cold to his skin. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Meru looked horrified. "Don't you remember, Arty? Don't you remember us together?"  
  
Artemis didn't remember anything like that, and he had a pressing feeling that she was lying. "But I thought Belle-"  
  
Meru was suddenly very angry. "Forget about Belle! She is nothing to you! In fact she is only a lying little rat. You shouldn't believe a thing she says."  
  
Artemis flinched at her outburst.  
  
Meru, seeing this, quickly regained her composure. "I'm sorry, Arty. I didn't mean to scare you. But you should know that Belle is not a good person. You are much better off with me." She reached out to touch him again, but Artemis dodged out of the way and ran to the other side of the room.  
  
Meru pursed her lips. "Fine. If you're going to be that way, I'll just have too-" But she stopped suddenly, her face turned back into a smile. "Of course, you must be tired. It was such a long journey here; why don't you rest for a little while?"  
  
Artemis didn't answer.  
  
Then, with a last encouraging smile Meru disappeared. Artemis was left alone in the room, wondering how she had done that.  
  
He was unnerved. There was something about Meru he really didn't like, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. And the way she had acted didn't help him feel better about it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Did you like it? Did you? Did you? Tell me in a review! 


	6. Bad News

A/N: Yay! Next chappie!  
  
Replies to reviewers:  
  
ednra: You could at least do better than that.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Crouching Secrets, Hidden Memories  
  
Chapter 6: Bad News  
  
The high-heels of her slick black boots made sharp clicking noises echo down the dimly-lit marble hall. Meru was scowling; it would take more effort that she had thought to persuade the boy to her will. Apparently, even when he didn't even really remember them, his old memories still had an effect on his attitude towards her. But what annoyed Meru the most was that Rhane had managed to get through her defenses, Artemis wasn't supposed to remember her at all. And unfortunately, Rhane had broken through her spells on Katherine, or Belle, whatever she called herself now.  
  
Meru threw open the doors to her throne room. She walked across the cold stone floor, mentally smiling as the hideous beast guards of hers winced at the sharp clack of her boots. But the guards stood erect, their heavy armor hindering them not at all and their weapons cursed so that any wound caused by them would poison the receiver; no matter how small the injury was.  
  
When she reached her black throne Meru turned on her heel and sat down, lounging back against the cruelly twisted metal of the enormous chair. She smiled to herself and stroked one twisted black armrest. The throne had once sat in the Tithien palace throne room; that is until she had blasted it with a fire ball in her dragon form. She had taken it back to her castle as a prize, a symbol of her absolute authority. She needed only one thing to complete that authority. Meru smiled her poisoned-honey smile, Arty belonged to her now.  
  
"Milady," Meru turned her attention to one of her beasts, whom was about to announce the arrival of her General. "General Feardorcha has come with news." The donkey-faced beast bowed and walked backwards out of the way of the opening doors.  
  
The doors went floor-to-ceiling and without the balancing spell they would have been almost impossible to push open. But they opened easily before General Feardorcha. "My Queen," The man was handsome she had to admit, as he swaggered a bit too proudly up the hall to her throne, but her only use for him was his skill in battle.  
  
The man bowed deeply before her, but not deeply enough. Meru pursed her lips. "Ah, General, tell me, what is the news that you have brought me?"  
  
Feardorcha smiled proudly, "The army is ready. The number you asked for has been achieved. We can go to war at your command, my love." He bent over her hand and kissed it too many times to be only of courtesy.  
  
Meru didn't pull her hand away, she needed this man under her complete control; instead she smiled at him sweetly. "Is that all you have to tell me?"  
  
Feardorcha's face fell. "Well love, there is some bad news..."  
  
Meru's face hardened instantly. "What kind of bad news?"  
  
The General shifted on his feet, fear in his eyes. "Well, I have been informed by very accurate sources that Rhane has managed to bring the Queen into the Realm."  
  
Meru shot up from her seat. "What?!" Fiery rage sparked from her blood red eyes. "I thought I told you to have the way sealed!"  
  
Feardorcha took a step back; Meru was known to spit fire when angry. "I'm sorry, love, but somehow they got past our defenses..."  
  
The demon goddess raised a hand to strike him, but she held it back. She needed this man. "Of course, Feardorcha, it wasn't your fault, such a thing can be forgiven." Meru lowered her arm, her sweet smile back on her face.  
  
Feardorcha relaxed. "Yes, thank you, milady. Shall I send out search parties to find them?"  
  
Meru smiled maliciously. "Yes, I want Katherine's head to hang on my wall, and I want that Rhane in a cage." She leaned in close to Feardorcha. "Oh, and General, I want this done quickly, or you can be sure that heads will roll, and not just the heads of my enemies. You understand?"  
  
The General nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, of course milady. I understand completely."  
  
Meru nodded as a dismissal and General Feardorcha scurried away between the long rows of tall stone columns and hideous guards. As the enormous doors closed behind him Meru sat back in her twisted throne. Rhane and Katherine could prove quite a disturbance to her careful plans. If Katherine started remembering things and Meru wasn't able to sacrifice Artemis in time then everything would be spoiled.  
  
The evil dragon queen smiled. A ghoul or two should take care of her two sole adversaries.  
  
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A/N: A short chapter, I know. But I promise the action starts in the next chapter. All I have to do is write it up... PLEASE REVIEW! Pretty, pretty please? 


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